Cantor: Tax Increases “Unfathomable”

Boehner, Cantor, McCarthy and other House GOPers hold media availability following closed meeting.

“It is unfathomable to me why our President thinks that he’s got to condition any prescription to fix these [entitlement] programs on tax increases,” Majority Leader says.

Leader Cantor: We Must Get The Fiscal House In Order Without Raising Taxes

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) Remarks at GOP Stakeout

July 12, 2011

“The President has talked over the last day or so about the need to try and address the big problems, which are the entitlement programs, specifically health care entitlements and their trajectory. It is gratifying to see that the President joins us in feeling that we have to do something about it, because as Chairman Hensarling just said, we were the ones who came forward and said we are going to put health care entitlements in our budget because we believe this is how you get the fiscal house in order. I appreciate the President saying we have to do something about the long term health of our country and entitlements and I appreciate the fact that he thinks he has some prescriptions to do so. What I don’t understand is, why in the world the President would then tie that to tax increases. If it’s the right thing to do for the country, why is he tying it to imposing greater costs on the people of this country at a time they can least deal with that?”

Q & A:

Leader Cantor: “We all agree that we have to do something about the long term trajectory of the entitlement programs, and we have to fix them for the health of this country. It is unfathomable to me why our President thinks that he’s got to condition any prescription to fix these programs on tax increases. Again, if that’s what he is looking for, we’re not going to go there. Right now this economy is ailing and we don’t believe, nor do I think the American people believe, that raising taxes is the answer for what’s vexing most people in this country which is the lack of jobs and growth. So let’s fix the entitlements like the President said, without raising taxes, then we can focus on the issues that he would like to focus on and we would like to focus on, which is our tax code. But why does he insist on raising taxes when we’re trying to fix the health of this country?”